GOP Rep. Ogles compared to Santos in ethics complaint

A nonpartisan congressional watchdog filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday, alleging the congressman lied on financial disclosure documents.

The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) said Ogles failed to disclose a $320,000 personal loan to his campaign in 2022 and a $700,000 line of credit from a bank later that same year, claims first discovered by local investigative reporters in Tennessee. 

“The public has a right to know the sources of money that may be used to influence a federal election, as well as potential conflicts of interest that may arise due to a member’s financial obligations,” the group said in a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics.

The CLC compared the alleged violations to those of former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who was expelled from Congress last month over allegations that he defrauded campaign donors and lied to constituents. He faces a bevy of criminal charges, including fraud, and has denied wrongdoing.

“The expulsion of Representative George Santos for filing false financial disclosure statements and other ethics violations demonstrates why investigations of significant discrepancies in a candidate’s financial reporting are warranted,” the group said. “Unexplained inconsistencies in Rep. Ogles’ reported finances and allegations of misrepresenting his background raise fundamental questions for voters about the transparency of their elected representative.”

Ogles has faced allegations of misrepresenting his background, which Santos was also accused of. The Tennessee congressman admitted last year that he misstated his college degree.

“The similarities between Rep. Ogles and Rep. Santos should not be ignored,” the CLC said in the complaint.

The Hill has reached out to Ogles’s office for comment.

The complaint also references allegations Ogles misrepresented himself as an economist and claims that he took money from a GoFundMe intended for a community project in 2014. The CLC also noted previous Federal Election Commission claims against Ogles over misfiled campaign finance documents.

The CLC said those allegations “demonstrate a pattern of inaccurate information on the public record supporting an investigation of his substantial financial disclosure discrepancies.”

“Voters have a right to know who their elected officials are and what or who may influence them,” CLC legal counsel Danielle Caputo said in a statement to The Hill. “Unexplained inconsistencies in Rep. Ogles’ financial disclosures and allegations he has misrepresented in his background make it hard for voters to truly know who is on their ballot and what interests he may be beholden to.” 

“The Office of Congressional Ethics must investigate this matter, because Rep. Ogles’ constituents are owed the truth,” she added.

Updated at 5:17 p.m. ET